Apparatus for training a dog to heel

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for training a dog to heel includes an elongated body adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg of a dog trainer. The body has a top end and a bottom end. The top end is adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of the upper thigh of the dog trainer. The bottom end is adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of a lower calf of the dog trainer. Straps are provided at intervals along the body. The straps are adapted for strapping the body to the leg of the dog trainer. More than one training strap coupling is positioned at spaced vertical intervals along the body. The dog trainer connects a short training strap extending to a collar of a dog being trained at a selected training strap coupling at a height of the collar of the dog.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to dog training apparatus, which is used to train a dog to heel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,466 (Pintor et al 1998) entitled “Pet Training Device” discloses an apparatus which includes a waist strap adapted for attachment around a waist of a dog trainer, a thigh strap adapted for attachment around a thigh of the trainer, a connecting strap adapted to be vertically positioned against a front portion of a thigh of the trainer connecting the waist strap and the thigh strap, and a training strap coupling the thigh strap to a collar of a dog.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for training a dog to heel, which includes an elongated body adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg of a dog trainer. The body has a top end and a bottom end. The top end is adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of the upper thigh of the dog trainer. The bottom end is adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of a lower calf of the dog trainer. Straps are provided at intervals along the body. The straps are adapted for strapping the body to the leg of the dog trainer. More than one training strap coupling is positioned at spaced vertical intervals along the body. The dog trainer connects a short training strap extending to a collar of a dog being trained at a selected training strap coupling at a height of the collar of the dog.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus for training a dog to heel in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 with the body repositioned along the waist strap;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the apparatus in FIG. 1 strapped to a leg;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the apparatus strapped to the leg of a taller dog trainer and connected to a smaller dog; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the apparatus strapped to the leg of a shorter dog trainer and connected to a larger dog.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment, an apparatus for training a dog to heel generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 5.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

Referring to FIG. 1, apparatus 10 includes an elongated body 12. Referring to FIG. 3, elongated body 12 is adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg 14 of a dog trainer 16. Body 12 has a top end 18 adapted for positioning against leg 14, normally the left, in the vicinity of the upper thigh 20 of dog trainer 16 and a bottom end 22 adapted for positioning against leg 14 in the vicinity of a lower calf 24 of dog trainer 16. A length of body 12 is adjustable to suit differing leg lengths. This length adjustment is accomplished through the use of buckle 25.

Referring again to FIG. 1, there are several leg straps 26 positioned at intervals along body 12 adapted for strapping body 12 to leg 14 of dog trainer 16. This may be done using buckles or Velcrom™. A waist strap 28 is secured to top end 18 of body 12 by length to prevent body 12 from sliding down leg 14. Waist strap 28 is adjustable to suit differing waist circumferences. As illustrated, waist strap clip 29 allows waist strap 28 to be attached and to be tightened by pulling on the loose end 31 of waist strap 28, and loosened by pushing loose end 31 through waist strap clip 29. Loops 33 on waist strap 28 hold loose end 31 in place, and may also be used to carry training tools or accessories such as extra leashes, airing bags, kongs, flexi-leashes, bumpers, etc. As waist strap 28 is adjusted, it will also be necessary to adjust the position of body 12 along waist strap 28, such that body 12 is always positioned on the outside of the hip 15 of dog trainer 16 as shown in FIG. 3, in other words, such that body 12 is aligned with the outer seam of the pants. The new position is fixed using strap 42 to overlap the connecting end 27 of body 12 that connects body 12 to waist strap 28 while still allowing movement along waist strap 28. Strap 42 has male snaps 41 at each end at a distance that corresponds to the distance between female snaps 40 on waist strap 28, such as an interval of 2″. Referring to FIG. 3, strap 42 is shown overlapping connecting end 29. Referring to FIG. 2, body 12 and strap 42 are shown in a different position along waist strap 28.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, multiple training strap couplings 30 are positioned at spaced vertical intervals along body 12, such that dog trainer 16 connects a short training strap 32 extending to a collar 34 of a dog 36 being trained at a selected training strap coupling 30 at a height of collar 34 of dog 36. To demonstrate the versatility of apparatus 10, FIG. 4 shows a larger person with a smaller dog, and FIG. 5, shows a shorter person with a larger dog.

Operation:

The use and operation of dog training apparatus 10 will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. Referring to FIG. 3, body 12 is attached to left leg 14 of dog trainer 16 by wrapping leg straps 26 around different parts of leg 14, such as upper thigh 20, and lower cal 24. Top end 18 is also secured by wrapping waist strap 28 around dog trainer 16 and engaging waist strap clip 29. Waist strap 28 is adjusted to different waist sizes by pulling on loose end 31 of waist strap 28 that passes through waist strap clip 29, or pushing it through in the other direction, then repositioning body 12 along waist strap 28 as shown in FIG. 2 such that body 12 is positioned on the outside part of hip 15 of dog trainer 16, as shown in FIG. 3. Once positioned, strap 41 secures connecting end 27 of body 12 by engaging male snaps 41 The length of body 12 is then adjusted for the height of dog trainer 16 using buckle 25. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, once body 12 has been attached to leg 14 of dog trainer 16, a short training strap 32 is attached to collar 34 of dog 36, and then attached to body 12 by means of one of the training strap couplings 30 that is closes in height to collar 34 of dog 36.

The Pintor et al reference taught the use of a single attachment location for attaching a training strap to the collar of the dog. This attachment location was on the front of the thigh of the dog trainer at the height of the upper thigh. In contrast, referring to FIG. 2, body 12 of apparatus 10 is on the outside of thigh 20 of dog trainer 16 and provides a plurality of attachment locations 30. When used correctly, dog trainer 16 will attach a short training strap 32 at the height of collar 34 of dog 36. It is critical that training strap be attached at the height of collar 34 of dog 36 in order to establish a lead and follow relationship between dog 36 and the left leg 14 of dog trainer 16. The Pintor et al reference did not establish this critical relationship, as is apparent from a review of FIG. 1 of the Pintor et al referenced. For all but the largest breeds of dog, the attachment location as taught by Pintor et al would be too high resulting in an upward tug on the dog and a delayed corrective action as the dog trainer walked. Furthermore, the smaller the breed of dog, the longer the length of the training strap required. As the training strap is lengthened control over the dog is lost. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, it can be seen that this difficulty is avoided in the present invention, where a taller person is training a smaller dog in FIG. 4, and a shorter person is training a larger dog in FIG. 5, but the connection with training strap 32 is always at the height of collar 34.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims. 

1. An apparatus for training a dog to heel, comprising: an elongated body adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg of a dog trainer, the body having a top end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of the upper thigh of the dog trainer and a bottom end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of a lower calf of the dog trainer; straps at intervals along the body, the straps being adapted for strapping the body to the outside portion of the leg of the dog trainer; and multiple training strap couplings positioned at spaced vertical intervals along the body representing various dog collar heights, including more than one training strap coupling positioned toward the bottom end, each training strap coupling being adapted for attachment of a training strap, such that the dog trainer connects a short training strap extending to a collar of a dog being trained at a selected one of the multiple training strap couplings at a height of the collar of the dog.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a waist strap is secured to the top end of the body to prevent the body from sliding down the leg.
 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a length of the body is adjustable to suit differing leg lengths.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the waist strap is adjustable to suit differing waist circumferences.
 5. An apparatus for training a dog to heel, comprising: an elongated body adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg of a dog trainer, the body having a top end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of the upper thigh of the dog trainer and a bottom end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of a lower calf of the dog trainer, a length of the body is adjustable to suit differing leg lengths; several leg straps positioned at intervals along the body, the straps being adapted for strapping the body to the outside portion of the leg of the dog trainer; a waist strap is secured to the top end of the body to prevent the body from sliding down the leg, the waist strap being adjustable to suit differing waist circumferences; and multiple training strap couplings positioned at spaced vertical intervals along the body representing various dog collar heights, including more than one training strap coupling positioned toward the bottom end, each training strap coupling being adapted for attachment of a training strap, such that the dog trainer connects a short training strap extending to a collar of a dog being trained at a selected one of the multiple training strap couplings at a height of the collar of the dog.
 6. An apparatus for training a dog to heel, the apparatus comprising: an elongated body adapted to be vertically positioned against an outside portion of a leg of a dog trainer, the body having a top end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of an upper thigh of the dog trainer and a bottom end adapted for positioning against the leg in the vicinity of a lower calf of the dog trainer; a plurality of spaced apart straps at intervals along the body, the straps being adapted for strapping the body to the outside portion of the leg of the dog trainer; and a plurality of training strap couplings positioned at spaced vertical intervals along the body with at least one training strap coupling positioned adjacent the bottom end for use with a small dog, at least one training strap coupling positioned adjacent the top end for use with a larger dog, and at least one training strap coupling positioned between the bottom end and the top end for use with an intermediate dog, each training strap coupling being adapted for attachment of a short training strap such that the dog trainer connects the short training strap to a collar of the dog being trained at a selected one of the plurality of training strap couplings with the selected one of the plurality of training strap couplings being substantially equal to a height of the collar of the dog being trained when the dog is in a heel position.
 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein and two training strap couplings are positioned between a pair of spaced apart straps. 